Friday, March 30, 2012

Spring 2012 Season Preview

On paper, Spring 2012 looks like the best anime season since 2007. There are quite a few extremely high-profile projects, several niche series of interest, and a theoretical return to form for NoitaminA after by far its worst season ever. Full previews and detailed analysis are below the fold. As always, please share your most anticipated Spring series in the poll.
As good as the season looks, there is a cautionary note for me. I’ve long been an advocate of the notion that a director is extremely important to an anime’s success or failure, and probably the most underappreciated one. And while Spring looks great based on the synopses, it doesn’t look as great based on directors. The last couple have seasons have featured strong contingents of talented veteran directors, and their shows have predictably been among the best of the season. For Spring, we have a larger proportion of less-known directors, or those whose track record is less than stellar. Among the big guns it’s really Watanabe Shinichiro with Apollon – a question mark as he’s been largely inactive over the last decade – and Nakamura Kenji with Tsuritama, a question mark because his last NoitaminA series was a mixed bag at best. Outside of NoitaminA there’s not much in terms of name directors apart from Mizushima Seiji (who I rank a notch or two below the top level), and his Natsuiro Kiseki is a show whose premise is of very little interest to me.

As always, the preview isn’t comprehensive – it’s just the shows that catch my eye going in. Assume I’ll watch every new series at least once regardless of whether it’s in this preview or not, and assume I’ll blog at least one or two shows not in the preview. With relatively few multi-cour carryovers from Winter I’m going to be pretty open to blogging new series, at least in trial form. No firm plans for which shows I’ll be blogging at Random Curiosity (as you may know that site is making some changes at the moment) but as of now I’ll plan to once again simulcast those series at both sites.

I’m a bit worried that Motonaga – director of the abomination School Days – is in charge, but I’m inclined the blame the failure of that show more on the material as the show was technically quite good. Kuroda is a solid writer, White Fox aced it with Steins;Gate, and this story of Jonah, a child soldier who joins a memorable gang of mercenaries, is a really good manga – dark, edgy and difficult. It needs more than one cour to properly tell its story, which could be a real problem. EDIT: Second cour was just announced (3/19) for Fall 2012, so series length shouldn't be an issue.

BONES revives arguably its signature property, and let’s hope more successfully than Gonzo did with Last Exile. E7 was a big series for me as an anime fan, flawed and overcomplicated but compelling as seemingly all classic BONES series were. The A studio is working on this one, with Kyoda and most of the staff back, though the absence of writer Sato Dai is worrisome. The first two manga chapters are out and I like them, though they don’t tell us much. Kudos to BONES for casting a real live boy as Ao. The fans are dismissing this one as a disaster before it even premières, but I see no reason for such defeatism – I’m hopeful this will be a multi-cour series that does the brand proud. If not, I’ll be almost as sad as I am about “Fam”.

Nakamura returns to NoitaminA to try and redeem himself for C, and this looks like a very interesting series. A real departure for Nakamura, it’s a slice-of-life about four high-school boys in a fishing town, with a seeming ecological bent and elements of science-fiction. Terrific cast is lead by Miyu Irino and Sugita Tomokazu. Hopefully this portends a return to form for both the director and the NoitaminA block, and it’s great to see more of these type of shows featuring guys. It’ll be interesting to see how Nakamura-sensei fares with seemingly gentler and more wistful material than he’s used to.

When the director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo returns to TV, it’s news. I don’t know the manga, but it’s definitely a different vibe than the usual anime fare – jazz-themed, guy-centric yet Josei, with a retro look that reminds me of Taniguchi Jiro. In short, this is exactly the sort of thing that should be on NoitaminA – shows that otherwise wouldn’t be produced. I don’t know if Watanabe-sensei’s presence is enough to prevent this from failing commercially, but it’ll be interesting to find out. Rock-solid cast of unassuming but talented seiyuu.

LandQ’s first series as lead studio is an interesting one – a never-produced concept by industry giant Matsumoto Leiji, arguably the most important mangaka of the post-Tezuka era. We’ve got humans dying out in the distant future, clones, mecha, and dystopia. Anything attached to Matsumoto-sama deserves attention, though I’m the first to admit my expectations are fairly modest. 69 year-old stalwart Takahashi Ryosuke is on-board as supervising director.

I sense the potential for greatness here. Four cours, superb source manga, fantastic premise – two brothers see a UFO as children and dream of becoming astronauts as a result. This is a story with everything – sibling dynamics, chasing a dream, sci-fi… A-1 is a studio that can be relied upon to deliver solid production values, and the staff seems fine – Uezu has a striking mix of great and awful adaptations, which tells me he’s as good as his source material (in this case, great) and Watanabe is known mostly for Doraemon. This is going to be all-ages, family friendly material but don’t sell it short because of that.

I’m a sucker for sports anime, what can I say – even though they often disappoint me. I don’t know the source novel but the premise sounds interesting - middle-school boy is inspired to revive his disbanded soccer club after meeting a women’s professional footballer. There are hints that this could be better than boilerplate – Uda is the director of One Piece, and Yamada’s résumé is loaded with very, very good adaptations.

I’m a sucker for… You know. In this case I do know the manga somewhat, and I rather like it. The story centers on Kuroko, a legendary middle-school basketballer who’s better than everyone on his HS team despite being small, scrawny and nondescript. With a studio like I.G. attached I have to be hopeful, though they’re not the guarantor of quality they once were. Takagi has a good track record as a writer. The stellar cast features three Onos, no waiting (Yuuki, Kensho and Daisuke) and it’s great to hear Ono Kensho again (as Kuroko) after he was so fantastic in Ghost Hound.

Director: Oonuma Shin Writer: Takayama KatsuhikoPreview:
If it’s Silver Link it must be Oonuma Shin, and that means this Shinbou protégé’s very distinctive style – which in my experience either works splendidly or results in disaster. It’s an adaptation of a manga about a dead girl haunting a school building, and the boy who’s the only one who can see her in ghost form. I hear pretty good things about the manga, and Takayama’s adaptation work (Mirai Nikki, Ef, Natsu no Arashi) is generally quite good. Possible sleeper material.

Anytime KyoAni ventures into series animation it’s news, especially as they’ve been so quiet as of late. And what’s this, a KyoAni school life series with a male lead and mixed-gender cast? Yes, that was a pig that just flew by your window. It’s KyoAni and the character designs by KyoAni stalwart Nishiya Futoshi are absurdly cute. Takemoto and Gato are KyoAni vets, and both worked on Fullmetal Panic as well. Based on a novel by Yonezawa Honobu, this looks like a lighter mystery theme set in the Classic Literature Club. The cast is full of KyoAni regulars too. In short, expect what you usually get from these guys – great animation, bright and detailed art and a KyoAni feel through and through.

A no-brainer. One of the most impressive shows of 2011 returns to finish its run, and I’ll be there. S1 was rock-solid in all aspects – top-quality animation, slick direction and a compelling story by Urobuchi Gen.

I’m right on the edge with this one. I liked the first season, but progressively less as it progressed, and I was very close to dropping the series by the end. I don’t really see a need for this sequel, but I’ll give it a chance for at least a few eps to see if can reproduce the edgy yet oddly warm humor of the first half of the first season. Perhaps Uezu Makoto as writer (he did not adapt S1) will produce better results.

An anime adaptation of a flash anime about a Cthulhu demon who saves a high school boy from aliens? No, I didn’t hit my head and I’m not drunk – and I pretty much do expect this to suck. But I have that morbid curiosity you get when passing a traffic accident, and I’m curious enough to see how badly Lovecraft is mangled this time that I’ll give it a couple of looks.

No changes in the team for this one, so expect more of the same. And that’s generally a pretty good thing, as the first season got tolerably entertaining after Irino Miyu joined the cast as Chizuru. Daily Lives of High School Boys this isn’t – these are shoujo boys, non-threatening, and most of the material could as easily feature in a series starring girls as guys. Still, the humor took on an agreeably quirky tone in the second half of the season and that’s enough to make me think I’ll blog the second, in digest form anyway.

He’s baaaaaack… Yoshino Hiroyuki, fresh off the triumph of writing that is Guilty Crown, is writing the adaptation of Kawahara Reki’s popular light novels. I have hopes he’ll do better with someone else’s story as a base, and Obara has worked on some very good shows. I know these LNs are popular, and it’s an interesting premise – in 2046, a fat kid at the bottom of the caste system at his middle school becomes a Knight protecting a Princess through the miracle of VR. I may be crazy to say it, but I get sleeper vibes from this one.

I was wondering why this looked so familiar to me, as I had never seen the manga as far as I knew. Then I remembered – I bought a doujin of this from Toranoana in Akihabara a couple of years ago, having no idea what this was – I just liked the artwork. Well, I still like the manga art – and it seems to have survived the transition to anime remarkably intact. I’ll be honest, I find the central conceit – effectively, boy tastes a girl’s spittle and becomes her slave – rather gross. But I hear good things about the manga from a story and character standpoint, and I’m curious to see where this goes. Watanabe is also directing Uchuu Kyoudai – and he seems like a very odd choice for this material, indeed.

I’ll be honest, this looks pretty dumb to me – and as you may know, I find pretty much everything written by Nisio Isin to be insufferably self-aware and pretentious. But this is GAINAX, my anime first love, and Saeki-sensei is one of the last of the old guard left – and not only that, a very important contributor to FLCL, which is an anime I admire and adore almost beyond all reason. Out of loyalty to him and nostalgia for GAINAX, I have no choice but to check my distaste for Nisio at the door and hope this seitaokai story surprises me.

No, it’s not anime – but it’s damn good TV and I’ll be blogging it. At the time I watched S1 I hadn’t read the novels. It was good enough to make me read every page available (and that’s a lot) including the “Dunk & Egg” novellas, and I fear it may have ruined the TV adaptation for me just a bit. But be that as it may, I can tell you that the good stuff really hasn’t even started yet, and I expect lots of gory, smutty, fun in S2.

OVA/Movie:
We have an extremely interesting crop of theatrical and OVA releases to go along with the bumper crop of TV series. Here’s a rundown of a few I’ll be keeping my eye on, including a few from March.

Nekogami Yaoyarozu (OVA) – 3/21: A real sleeper favorite of mine in 2011, I love this show and look forward to the OVA.

Rurouni Kenshin Shin Kyoto-Hen Vol. 1 (OVA) – 3/21: Obviously. I’ve heard no reviews of the brief theatrical run of "WTF Were You Thinking Deen-Hen”, but this is RK so I’ll watch it and hope. It’s a big year for RK with the manga return and the live-action, and every true fan hopes this is all leading up to an adaptation of the holy grail of Rurouni Kenshin, the Jinchu Arc. Hopefully Okada Mari hasn’t totally trashed whatever dignity the anime had left after “Reflection” was done abusing it.

Mirai Nikki Unaired Episode (OVA) – 3/30: No idea what this blu-ray bundled ep is, but of course I’ll be watching with interest.

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Theatrical) – 4/7: If you need me to sell you on this, turn in your anime fan card at the door.

UN-GO “Episode 0” (OVA) – 4/20: The origin story at long last, and bundled with two new anime shorts to boot.

Another (OVA) – 5/2012: Episode 0 of the stellar PA Works horror mystery, looks to be a very moe-fied take on the series. I’m thinking this might just be brilliant.

Niji-iro Hotaru ~Eien no Natsu Yasumi ~ (Theatrical) – 5/19: Toei Animation brings us this tale of a boy who finds himself transported to the lost world of a village flooded by the building of a dam. I love the art I’ve seen, and the story feels like a classic Japanese heartbreaker.

Deva Zan (Theatrical) – TBA: Not much is known about this film, written, directed and designed by Final Fantasy designer Amano Yoshitaka. But that alone makes it interesting.

121 comments:

It LOOKS like a great season. But then, I thought winter looked like a great season too and, obvious standouts aside, it kind of disappointed, so I will try not to get my hopes up. Kimi to Boku I really liked a lot for some reason (maybe because I overemphathize with Kaname's habit of falling for girls that are out of reach :P) so I look forward to that and Fate/Zero was obviously great so there's that.

In terms of new shows, the GAINAX one will PROBABLY suck, but FLCL was one of my watershed anime moments, so I'll watch it either way and pray for the best. Uchuu Kyodai has got potential, 48 episodes means it has plenty of time to properly develop it's characters and tell a compelling story, exactly the kind of length that a show like this looks to be needs. I just hope someone will sub it, I don't like CR and most fansub groups seem to shy away from long series' nowadays. Sakamichi no Apollon seems like it will either be epic or epic fail, but based on the past works of the director I'm cautiously optimistic. It's an interesting mix for sure, it should be an interesting season regardless of how the shows actually turn out.

Question: For Eureka Seven, I never saw the original. Is this new one a direct sequel or can I watch it by itself with no knowledge of the original required?

You're probably going to need to know how it ends to really understand anything that's happening in the beginning. The last episode of E7 actually wraps up the story pretty nicely, with details left unanswered, but the main plot points are answered, I think

@deafvader: we'll be sure to book a first row seat for you at our wedding ;D. It'll be a glorious thing of fire and blood and tiramisù (I can cook and I'm Italian, I'm a catch XD!)I consider myself more of a loyal lurker rather than a stalker though. But I can be pretty possessive with my precious.

Will you be mine nonetheless, Enzo ? I'll rub you gently, I promise :p

Someone might be having fun playing Cupid, ahah. And thanks but no, I'm not going to hunt for Enzo's voice, DV. Some pleasures are better left for later and more intimate times :PP. I'm happy with the photos already. Good eye for composition in your snapshots, Enzo :).---Anyway... on deviantart I'm slightly less dorky. I mean, I occasionally upload my srs bsnss stuff up there among the fanartsy/fangirly works. For your thorough background checking purposes, you can go here Enzo. You can get an outline of what makes me tick ( outside of your brain of course ;p ) : http://elianthos80.deviantart.com/gallery/ and in one of my latest deviantart journal entries there's even a mini interview by an acquaintance revealing my dirty(?) secrets. Sooo... um... dig ahead?

Yes Shizuka Ito in a protagantist role. Has happened since the somewhat boring Ookami-san. She seems to be having quite a revival since her best days in like 2005-2007.

As a fan very pleased by this.

Looking forward to the return of NoitaminA, spacebros, the S2s and the various quirky romances. Kyoani's shows are always given, but if the moe content, which is calculated by the number of times a girl blushes and cries or walks with their knees bent inwards, is excessive it will be dropped. Not that this one seems to have much of that.

Yo sauntered on over here from RC cuz I heard your preview was out. Lets get started.

"I don’t know the manga, but it’s definitely a different vibe than the usual anime fare – jazz-themed, guy-centric yet Josei, with a retro look that reminds me of Taniguchi Jiro"If I remember correctly the manga got a pretty highly acclaimed award in manga circles. I can't really be bothered to look though.

"It’s an adaptation of a manga about a dead girl haunting a school building, and the boy who’s the only one who can see her. I hear pretty good things about the manga, and Takayama’s adaptation work (Mirai Nikki, Ef, Natsu no Arashi) is generally quite good. Possible sleeper material."Odds on no, the manga is espodic so it lends itself well to anime adaptation but it wont really wow you persay but then again directing and music are amplifying factors. My bet is it will end on the average to above average scale.

"He’s baaaaaack… Yoshino Hiroyuki, fresh off the triumph of writing that is Guilty Crown,"No... no... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! You should really join us on the IRC chat you know, it's not hard (even I figured out how to get on).

Enzo just pointed out something I am now terrified by the guy writing for Guilty Crown is doing Accel World ? I now fear for the adaptation i'm at a point where i don't even care how it ends anymore.. I reached that point awhile ago what what?! oh FUCK nO NO NO NO NO NO I wouldn't piss on GC to put out a fire. i still like the art and the music.. but the whole plot dev is really messed up

"I may be crazy to say it, but I get sleeper vibes from this one."I'm pretty entertained by it but your mileage may vary.

"Out of loyalty to him and nostalgia for GAINAX, I have no choice but to check by distaste for Nisio at the door and hope this seitaokai story surprises me."It wont. It's maybe amusing for the first few chapters for the novelty then it gets weird and stupid. Your first impression was correct.

KoroshiyaKi: Enzo just pointed out something I am now terrified byKoroshiyaKi: the guy writing for Guilty Crown is doing Accel WorldCroos_: ?KoroshiyaKi: I now fear for the adaptationMrRei: i'm at a point where i don't even care how it ends anymore..KoroshiyaKi: I reached that point awhile agoGuardMonkey10: what what?!GuardMonkey10: oh FUCKGuardMonkey10: nO NO NO NO NO NOGuardMonkey10: I wouldn't piss on GC to put out a fire.MrRei: i still like the art and the music.. but the whole plot dev is really messed up

I think both the sleepers will be hits. I am less optimistic about the rest, apart from Fate/Zero and Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is pretty unique in that it's actually a decently faithful adaptation of a book series and not just inspired by a book and mostly original stuff. Still a lot of details cut out, but what is left is still far above the average TV series when it comes to story and characters.

Enzo, I can assure you Medaka Box is nothing like the Monogatari series. If I had to make a comparison the character of Medaka is more like Suzumiya Haruhi. I had been reading it for a year before I realized it was the same author. Amnesia will probably make a great 1 cour anime. I'm a bit worried about how Mysterious Girlfriend X will work as an anime, but the manga has been very charming. Really looking forward to the conclusion of Fate Zero as well as all the new shows. I'm always pessimistic at the start of a season, but always wind up liking more shows than I can manage to watch. In closing, thanks for this spring review. This is the first one I've read.

You speak my words that were unspoken. But I would still try Medaka Box. I did not like it much but anime has a certain way of making things nicer (not always though).Same reason I will try out Accel World.

Now please pardon any self-aggrandizement, but if you people are intending to follow Kyo-Ani's newest adaptation Hyouka, you may be interested in knowing Baka-Tsuki has just started working on translating the first volume.

Currently recruiting committed translators (though you'll have to figure out how to get the raw yourself).

Sign up at the Baka-Tsuki forums and inform the mods today.http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/

Lots of manga adaptations this season so let me share my opinion on those I've read. No spoilers, of course.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia: the manga is good. It's mainly a mystery series in a school setting, with a (not forever stalled) romance subplot and which can be occasionally creepy. As someone mentioned, it's episodic but still manages to tie all the mysteries together. I think they could fit this one reasonably well in one cour.There has been a preview out for months. It doesn't really show much but there is an interesting tease for those that pay close attention.

Nazo no Kanojo X: a rather peculiar series. Not your typical romance for sure. I think you might have gotten the wrong idea, Enzo, there is no slavery or abuse in any way; actually, it manages to be a rather cute, innocent and laidback story. Just in a pretty weird way and I can understand how that may gross some people out.I'm not the biggest fan of the art (those noses). I feel the manga gets stalled later on but that shouldn't be a problem in the anime.

Sankarea: I'm a little sad you didn't mention this one. I like the manga quite a bit. It mixes comedy, drama, mystery and romance well and can also be occasionally creepy. The ecchi levels might be too high for some, though.What worries me about this adaptation is that it's being made by Studio Deen.

Zetman: another one that didn't make your list but still a series that I bet will surprise more than a few. It's seinen and I'd say every aspect of it is solid: characters, plot, mystery, action, romance, but fails to really excel at any one of them.The preview looks awesome and this one looks like an ambitious adaptation so I'm looking forward to it. I have no idea if this is one or two cours. Still, even with two cours I have trouble seeing this adaptation including everything the preview promises.

Accel World and Medaka Box: I recall reading the first chapter(s?) of both and was left unimpressed. I'll give Accel World another chance since the manga itself is an adaptation and I've heard good things about the series as a whole.

As for my overall impression of the upcoming season: if it doesn't become one of the best in the last few years it's at least guaranteed to be incredibly solid.

Medaka Box does what is mentioned in Bakuman, turn into a battle manga when it starts to fail. It didn't find it that interesting as battle manga. It was OK before that, but it seemed like the author got into a rut and couldn't keep the story going without repeating the same thing over and over.

Haha I dropped it before I got to the battle part. Since the first few chapters were repeating over and over again already.

It was like reading Sket Dance. Kaichou goes solve problems of students. I did hear about it becoming a fighting manga but the male lead ticked me off too much that I won't even want to see him in a shounen fight.

Having read 3 volumes of the novel and in process of translating the 1st one, I can tell you that Kyo-Ani is now going back to adapting good ol' stories rather than mindless moe-blobs or absurd humour.

Compare this work more of their earlier collaborations with Key, like Air, Kanon and Clannad, which relies more on story than cuteness,

You know enzo I'm continously going to remind you to watch the last three episodes of ayakashi japanese classic horror stories the bake neko story and mononoke because I feel you are truly missing out on what nakamura is truly capable of and can understand why I was so disappointed with C.

'I watched Ayakashi and I'm about halfway through Mononoke right now!' Ahhh, Enzo. Good thing I live one continent away. I feel like serenading you right now XD'Te voglio bene assai, ma tanto tanto bene sai...' (Google it. It's a beautiful song titled 'Caruso')

I liked Bakaneko quite a bit, as well as the first Mononoke story, but they've all been good. The animation style takes some adaptation, but it's certainly distinctive. It's fascinating if sometimes a bit remote.

Nakamura is a real talent, no doubt - I don't judge him solely by "C".

Mysterious Girlfriend X: all I can say is PANTY SCISSORS! Actually, I think this is the least strange of any of the manga by Ueshiba Riichi. He also did Yume Tsukai, which was adapted in 2006. As others have pointed out, it really is a rather sweet romance.

Didn't know you were also reading Kuroko.That manga really needs more loving and I'm glad that you'recovering it. Lol at 3 Onos.

Nazo no Kanojo X. I still prefer to call it in its English name.It's a good read so don't let the synopsis turn you off. The studio may turn others out as well.

Medaka Box. As one who has read it from when it was a oneshot until it serialized, and as one who knows and likes Nisio's works, it's by far his weakest work. It's a combination of his wordplays and pure ridiculous shonen antics. You have been warned.

TOxA. The manga's art and characters are amazing. The problem is that it has limited materials. That and it's pseudo-SHAFT and Shinbo2.0 doing it.Looking at how his previous works with Silver Link is, I'm a bit afraid of how it will turn out *points at how colorful C3 is when the manga has the amazing combination of lighting and shadows*

And lastly, Fate/Zero. Anime of the year, you heard it here first. I'm pretty psyched for it. Wonder how the BD boxes sold. I heard it was around 40k-50k in the presales numbers.

I'll be watching all of the shows you mentioned, except for E7(haven't watched s1 yet), Ozuma and Ginga. Still not sure about Uchuu Kyoudai.Doesn't quite interest me. Might pick it up when it gets good review or when it finishes.

Wohoo...definetely going to be busy next spring w/ F/Z, Sakamichi no Apollon, Tsuritama, Uchuu Kyoudai, Jormungand, E7 AO, Hyou-ka, Kuroko no Basuke, Accel World, Ozuma, TasogarexOtome Amnesia, & totally thrill that you're going to blog most of the series on my watch list next spring^-^ Well, i'll definetely checking other series first few eps to see if there's something interesting other than my def watch above. I just can't wait for spring to come >_<

Hmm, I like the monogatari series but I found Medaka Box rather dull despite Nisio's use of exaggerated Shounen tropes. He just couldn't pull it off like TTGL. I ended up dropping it at ~chapter 97 and probably 97 chapters too late.

But hey, you liked Mirai Nikki while I disliked it. I came across Mirai Nikki a few years ago, read a few volumes, dropped it, eventually came across your high praise of the anime so I forced myself to read it again from start to finish but my initial impression never changed.

A lot of the shows this season look so retro. Honestly not many pop out to me other than the continuations. Maybe it's just another one of those seasons where I think I have nothing to watch but then I just end pup watching everything lol.

When you said you remembered the art from Nazo no Kanojo X (Mysterious Girlfriend, in the english version), I suddenly remembered reading the oneshot for the drool-swapping manga back in 2007. While I promptly dropped it then, the premise is unique enough to be unforgettable.

Thanks for the preview, Enzo! I'll be checking out 8 confirmed series (after some deliberation) and might check 4 more (at least I'll watch the first few episodes before deciding whether to add them to the list).

The way my face lit up when I saw Game of Thrones on the list, aha... still, despite my bias towards GoT, I'm really looking forwards to this season. There are some things I've been waiting for for ages, and I'm realizing now that I still haven't finished some first seasons, and I really need to get to that.I can't wait to see what you have to say about this seasons material once it's out.

''Watanabe Shinichiro with Apollon – a question mark as he’s been largely inactive over the last decade ''

That's how Watanabe rolls tho. He takes time off for a number of years thinking/ working on his next project, and then once all the pieces are in place he gets on actualizing it. So rather than a question mark I'd say it's more of a reassurance.

''Mizushima Seiji (who I rank a notch or two below the top level), and his Natsuiro Kiseki is a show whose premise is of very little interest to me.''

I don't know man, I have a feeling you might end up surprised ...

In any case, today is the first time I actually took a look and read the upcoming season's list. I'll write something more substantial later on, but what caught my eyes aside from the same things that caught your eye was Saint Seyia OMG DEM SEXY COLLARS Omega. Also, Cardfighter Vanguard is getting a second season alongside Phi Brain, and next season Sket Dance is getting also a second season. Woot.

I actually don't think this season looks great at all opposed to previous one, and Apollon, Tsuritama, and Uchuu Kyoudai are about the only one's I'm looking forward. The season is unpredictable, and a lot of the other stuff doesn't appeal to me.

Fortunately, you preview has somewhat piked my interest Jormungand, so that's good. However, I didn't know Accel World had the creative genius who wrote Guilty Crown working on it. That's dampened my interest ever so slightly.

Well, I'd feel better if one of the top-line directors was working on Jormungand, but I think the creative team should be good enough - and you have to believe in this studio. If they don't screw up, I think it would be almost impossible to make an adaptation of Jormungand that isn't at least interesting.

You can be DAMN sure I'll be here to read your blog regarding that, Enzo! Loved the first season (unfortunately haven't found the time to read the books), and I'll be eager to watch the next chapter of this epic unfold!

Anyway, I first found you on RC when I was looking for a good Chihayafuru blogger. After reading the first post, I became a fan and subscriber of your Taichi Tuesdays in RC.

I also am looking for a good Natsume Yuujinchou Shi blogger (I found one at SeaSlugs) and it is a little disappointing to know that it will not be blogged in RC. But I saw you write about the previous season so I thought maybe you write something about it. Turns out, you do!

And then this. In your recent survey, I voted for E7, Kuroko no Basuke and Saki: Achiga Hen. Like you, I am a sucker for sports anime (Adachi sensei's manga are fabulous, specially Cross Game) I assure you I'll be reading the blog on Kuroko no Basuke, I love the manga and I hope the adaptation will be good.

To sum it up, you are a great blogger. I love the ideas you present on every post (I actually watch the episode again when you point something that I missed xD) and I am truly looking forward to your future posts. Thanks and more power.

I already blogged Hotarubi - check the sidebar or the labels dropdown. Liked it very, very much. Saki seems like the odd choice among the others shows you're planning to watch - maybe you can convince me why I should watch it?

I found it! Hotarubi is under your February label which is why I didn't see it earlier, silly me.

About Saki... apparently I have this odd fixation on characters that either hides/does not know of/ignores his/her insane abilities. This also includes characters with unappreciated ones and those who are good in the past but decides to abandon it and then something happens that makes him/her use said ability again.

Examples are:Miyanaga Saki of Saki, Fujiwara Takumi of Initial D, Ryoma of PoT(I stopped watching tho, it became too ridiculous for my taste), Mihashi of Big Wind Up, Kou of Cross Game, Hiro of H2, Dan Doh of Dan Doh, Shizuku of Baggataway (manga about lacrosse), Chihaya of Chihayafuru(the hearing thing), Train of Black Cat and others that I seem to have forgotten.

Apparently there is something about underestimating the main character then said character unleashes his/her ability and everyone goes 'WTF?' that amuses me.

I seem to have the knack of writing long comments. Sorry about that and I'll try to lessen them to some extent. Also, I appreciate writers who reply on my post so thanks a lot.

PS: If you know any character that falls under said category, please tell me. Thanks!

Medaka Box is odd. There are some chapters which are brilliant and some that make you want to drop it. I will be watching it though, if only to see if the anime explains why one of the current manga characters, the fourth-wall breaking Ajimu Najimi, wants to end the manga before the anime airs.

And, I don't know if this counts as a spoiler or not, but she seems to be on the road to success :/

Nah, Nisio just doesn't know what to do with it anymore.The latest 5 or 6 chapters are a big mess even for Medaka Box standards. It's going nowhere really.He's just using Ajimu to say that to make it sound like he knows what he's doing but I doubt he is. I doubt it will even happen, the manga ending before the anime will air. If it will, then I've lost hope on Nisio now.Though I may attribute it to him getting bored and tired of Medaka and just want to focus on the Monogatari projects with SHAFT. Plus he still has 2 or 3 more volumes before it ends(the Monogatari novels I mean). So yeah.

Many of my friends (myself included) considered C to be among the best anime of the decade so far. I don't know where on earth you're getting that kind of hatred where you believe it requires "redemption." Even many other blogs sing its praises -- sure, I understand that it may not have been your cup of tea production-wise, or you disagree with it on a moral level or something, but to talk up "attempts" for this fellow to "redeem" himself for what is arguably a very divisive but powerful work and some supposed "return to form" is baffling to me and many, many others.

I take it if the new series he helms is anything like C you'll balk at the prospect of even sitting through it?

"Anything like C" is about as broad as you can get. I certainly have no moral objections to C - I simply don't think it was a very good series, easily the weakest of Nakamura's career. It was a good idea, but poorly executed - terrible pacing, and the last third was a muddled disaster. I've seen a lot worse, but it was an artistic failure as far as I'm concerned. When good directors made mediocre series, there's a certain onus on them to prove it isn't a trend.

So, do you plan to watch the BD versions of Fate/Zero Season 1 before Season 2 comes around? They contain a respectable amount of new footage which they'll probably take for granted that the viewer is aware of during Season 2, so in my view and as a fan of your reviews of Season 1, you totally should, but of course, it's up to you.

I would really like to, but it's a time issue for me - I just don't know when I'd be able to fit in effectively an entire series viewing. It's also not the cheapest blu-ray out there, though the packaging is certainly top-notch.

Well, before I found out about Legend of Korra's release date tonight, I was mostly looking forward to Nazo no Kanojo X. Mostly because out of all the animes coming out next season, it's the only one which manga I've read up to the latest translated chapters and enjoyed overall.

Jormungand looks really awesome too. I like Black Lagoon, so if it's anything like that, this will be an interesting series to watch.

I haven't seen Fate/Stay Night and it's prequel Fate/Zero yet, but I definitely plan on watching it.

Then I'm definitely looking forward to episode 0 of Un-Go. More Un-Go is always good. I wish Un-Go could have been 22-26 episodes, or more.

Btw, will you blog Legend of Korra?

Also, you got me interested in watching the first season of Game of Thrones.

I bring some more previews.Sankarea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SB_jgLYAIsJust a CM but it looks nice.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDeQ2YYeINIMajor disappointment here. Animation looks average at best and the manga's very distinctive art was reduced to typical character designs.

Thank you very much for your season preview. (And by the way thank you for all your other previews, reviews, first impression and series posts, even if I don’t comment on them, I read and appreciate them very much)

Spring really looks good. For me it is not overwhelming great (I liked the “weak” summer 2011 better) but still so much potentially good looking anime and so little time.

I will check out:Tsuritama and Sakamichi no ApollonYeah, noitaminA is back. I don’t know if these shows are my cup of tea but they look like they definitely belong to this wonderful timeslot.I think I will either love Tsuritama or drop it soon. It looks like one of these shows that you have a connection with or never will. I’m hoping for the best. I don’t know if I will like Sakamichi no Apollon because music themed anime are not really something I like, but I will definitely watch some episodes. I don’t know the manga, but the current scanlation group translates some other really good mangas, so I’m curious.

Tasogare Otome x AmnesiaOK, I almost skipped over the description, but then I saw Oonuma Shin’s name and I still haven’t give up hope. Plus an episodic horror anime sounds nice.

Nazo no Kanojo XI really like this manga, though I would say that it is the odd one on my reading list. I can only repeat what murkel previously said. It is really a bit weird and not everyone will like it, but there is no slavery. If you can get over their drool bond thing you will see that it gives the possibility of inside views you normally won’t get.

Next on the list I will try (if I find the time), Uchuu Kyoudai, Jormungand, Hyou-ka, Ginga e Kickoff!! and maybe Accel World. I switched to reading Kimi to Boku (I like it better as a manga)I haven’t seen Eureka Seven, Fate/Zero Season 1(I will, but not now), Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?, so I will not watch the sequels.

Agreed, this is really echhi in its way but it's still most definitely on the PG side of the fence. The "bond" is what is important, not the mechanism by which it is established imho. It moves slowly, but there's nothing wrong with that in that it treats the romance and the feelings of the characters with a bit more care. I know I was a myopic teenager and this series is determined to allow its characters to grow slowly and accept their feelings in such a fashion that is very compelling. Hope they got the casting right because that will probably make or break this anime is the how the emotions and the wonder of discovery are handled.